Embodiments herein generally relate to casters and more particularly to a protected caster assembly.
Casters used on heavy items, such as printing equipment, are sometimes easily bent and damaged during installation and subsequent use because of the moment arm between the axle of the caster wheels and the attachment point to the device. Additionally, the frame to which the caster is fastened can be deformed during installation or movement of the unit because of this moment arm. For example, if there is enough momentum, the damage to the casters and/or frame occurs when the caster is caught in irregular floor surfaces, such as carpet edges, elevator cracks, chasms in the loading dock areas, etc.
The bending moment on typical casters is high and acts like a lever on the mounting point of the caster assembly if the caster is suddenly stopped. The current approach is to replace the broken caster for no charge, or to pay special handling charges to the rigging organization to de-palletize devices at the installation site. Furthermore, during leveling of the casters, excess time is used when the features for height adjustment are relatively inaccessible, and the operator is required reach underneath or behind the unit to adjust the vertical position of the unit or level the unit.